When in Rome
by Lord Youko
Summary: When prince Inuyasha of the Eastern lands asked for a bedslave, he meant a cute little uke. He definitely did not mean the tall, rugged, stunningly beautiful prisoner of war with silver hair and purple stripes on his face. When the adorable, puppy-eared prince tries to show him his place as a slave, what's Sesshoumaru to do? Sess/Inu YAOI Master!Inuyasha Slave!Sess Dom!Sess Sub!Inu
1. Chapter 1

_**Story: When In Rome**_

 _ **Summary:**_ _When prince Inuyasha of the Eastern lands asked for a bedslave, he meant a cute little uke. He definitely did not mean the tall, rugged, stunningly beautiful prisoner of war with silver hair and purple stripes on his face. When the adorable, puppy-eared prince tries to show him his place as a slave, what's Sesshoumaru to do? Sess/Inu YAOI Master!Inuyasha Slave!Sess Dom!Sess Sub!Inu_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha and make no money from the writing of this fic._

 **Warnings:** This fic will contain yaoi, Master/slave relationship, Dom/sub dynamics, may slight S  & M, Seme!Sess Uke!Inuyasha, Dom!Sess, sub!Inuyasha.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

" _ **Sometimes you lose a battle, but mischief always wins the war."**_

– _ **John Green, 'Looking for Alaska'**_

The young war messenger boy trembled as the stood before the throne of Inu no Taisho, the great phantom beast, ruler of the Western Lands. _Don't kill the messenger_ was rumoured to be a well-known belief of the just dog General, but he didn't think anyone had ever had the misfortune of relaying bad news of this magnitude to the king yet.

Inu on Taisho's face was inscrutable as the heard the message. The dark, empty throne-room was dead silent as the messenger waited to either be dismissed or dismembered.

"The battle is lost," Taisho repeated, face cast in frightening shadows as he stared off into the distance.

The messenger nodded hesitantly. Sweat from his brow dripped on his nervous hands clasped in front of him.

"And my son has been captured," Taisho continued, as though repeating the words to himself would make sure the words were not false.

"Y-yes, milord," the boy said hesitantly.

Taisho's golden eyes suddenly snapped up to meet his, and the messenger was afraid he may have _eep-_ ed.

"You have done well to carry the message to me," Taisho said, his deep, authoritative voice resounding in the big, spacious room. "Keep the news to yourself. Do not breathe a word of it to anyone."

The messenger stared up at him, mouth falling open, then nodded frantically.

Inu no Taisho's eyes were hard and intense as they bored into his wide frightened ones. "If anyone knows of this, it is your life that will be forfeit."

The boy gasped and bowed low.

"Y-yes, my Lord."

* * *

"It doesn't become the ruler of the West to be so transparent in his glee, my Lord," Lady Tsukiko drawled, leaning against a shadowed pillar in the far end of the room.

Inu no Taisho turned to her and scowled.

"What are you talking about, woman," he said. Irritation was swiftly replacing the dark, smug satisfaction he had been feeling.

Tsukiko walked in and waved her hand non chalantly. The long, almost translucent silver sleeve of her kimono caught the faint moonlight from the open window and shimmered beautifully. "All the… dramatics."

"The boy was properly nervous," Taisho said, tightlipped. His voice was neutral but his hands were clenched into fists in his lap.

Tsukiko smirked. "That is his disingenuity and not your triumph."

Taisho couldn't keep the grin off his face even though he felt like throttling her.

"But you see, I was right," he declared. "The brat finally got his comeuppance."

Tsukiko tsked and checked her flawless nails.

"And what is my lord's plan for his first-born now, pray tell?"

Taisho grinned even wider.

"Let him be."

Tsukiko raised one eyebrow.

"He must understand the consequences of his actions," Taisho declared. "We aren't doing him any favours by pulling him out of every misfortune."

The lady of the West gave him a look that made him want to curl up on his throne and hide from her x-raying gaze.

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that you're relishing his misery since he defied you?"

Taisho's lips thinned. "….no."

Tsukiko laughed. The Lord of the Western lands, the great phantom beast threw a cushion at her.

* * *

Sesshoumaru scowled as he was led away in shackles towards the palace with the other prisoners of war.

The Land of the east was dry and hot, with far less trees and vegetation than the Western Lands. Hot, dry winds blew all day long, and the people of the land seemed to be used to a much harsher way of life than the subjects of the Western Lord. The palace of the Eastern Lord was visible in the distance. It was an imposing structure compared to the surrounding dwellings, but not nearly as grand as the Western castle. Sesshoumaru deduced that the Eastern land was less advanced and less economically well-off than the West.

When he was captured, he was stripped of his effects and was wearing the simplest clothes made of sack cloth. His long silver hair was tied back in a simple plait. Actually, it was customary for slaves to have their hair almost shaved off by slavers, but none of the slavers felt brave enough to approach Sesshoumaru with a razor, though they didn't know who he was, and couldn't explain why they were afraid.

And that was the one stipulation his father and mother, the Lord and Lady of the Western Lands had made – he could not reveal his identity to the enemy if he was to be while allowed to take a small portion of their army and some so-called valiant men. They had insisted from the start that it was a bad idea to wage war on a land so very far away from home, and he had insisted it was a battle that he could win.

The upshot of it was that in order to make him realize the importance of being a General instead of a fighter, they had stipulated that he could take what men he needed and go, provided his word that he would not wage the war in the name of the Western lord Inu no Taisho, and would in no way let them know who he was. After all, he may be able to slaughter an entire army himself if it came down to it, and just the name of the great Inu no Taisho was many a times enough to have kings surrendering in awe, but this was training for Sesshoumaru to be a ruler, and that meant winning with armies, not brute force.

This meant not transforming into his true demon form, or using most of his powers, because although still much smaller than Inu no Taisho, the form of the legendary beast was instantly recognizable. So he had led his men into battle, not as a Taiyoukai, but as a regular prince, only to find that his army was filled with a bunch of weaklings who couldn't hold their own when their life depended on it.

That is how he found himself in this situation, forced to forfeit the battle because his father's men were thoroughly, stunningly, incompetent and had become little more than frightened rabbits when he had outlined his plan of attack. They were used to Inu no Taisho's leadership and the great General was not only a strong warrior, but a prudent strategist. Lord Sesshoumaru's strategy was either disconcertingly brilliant or absolutely crazy, and none of them were brave enough to risk their lives to find out which, and their panic had lost them the war.

Furious as he was at their insubordination during battle, continuing the battle would cost them their lives, and returning to the Western Lands as the victor but the sole survivor of the battle would defeat the purpose of this whole endeavor and give his father a chance to gloat and that was even less acceptable than being cast in chains.

The prisoners were made to walk barefoot on the baked hot, rocky ground, and the burly slavers with whips in their hands made sure they didn't falter too much. The slavers had dark, cracked skin like the townspeople, and they wore clothing made out of some thin, light cloth. The baking rocks that were making the other youkai groan and flinch were as nothing to the Taiyoukai, and he let the blazing heat fuel thoughts of what was to be wreaked upon the bungling nincompoops that his father deigned to call _soldiers_ once he freed everyone from here and brought them back home.

But somehow, the slavers' whip always seemed to miss him; although the silver haired youkai had neither shown any exceptional powers nor caused them any trouble, the slavers found that their usual sadistic instinct wasn't enough to allow them to strike the man, and when he raised his eyes to look around, they somehow lowered their own.

They were almost at the palace when a young boy, talking loudly and uncouthly to courtly looking men caught their attention. The nobles or courtiers were bowing and scraping hastily, keeping their voice to a whisper, hoping the other man would follow their lead, but to no avail. The slavers and their prisoners stopped of a moment when it seemed there was a chance they would cross his path. Soon they were close enough to see the young man dressed in a red haori and hakama. Sesshoumaru was the first to hear the courtiers addressing him as 'my prince', and the Lord of the West's eyes derisively took in the shabbily worn expensive garment, broken, dirty nails, and coarse white hair.

"That's it. I don't wanna hear one more word outta you all or I'm gonna pound your heads into the ground. That clear?" the boy in red growled. The nobles, towards whom this was directed, seemed more terrified of the fact that the boy did not seem to be comprehending their concerns, rather than of the threat.

So this was the young prince of the Eastern lands, Sesshoumaru thought. The boy was clearly a hanyou, and yet he was being allowed to order full-blooded youkai around. The boy's conduct and language was disgraceful, but then, what more could be expected of a half-breed?

A disdainful "tsk" was audible, the puppy-eared boy and the nobles all looked around in surprise at the source of the sound.

It didn't take long for them to figure out that it had come from the silver haired male among the slaves who were being taken to the palace.

The boy's brows drew down in a thunderous frown, and he stomped towards the slaves and the slavers. The nobles and courtiers momentarily forgot the argument they were having and hurried after their prince.

The silver haired demon who had displayed insolence had his head bowed as was proper for him, and they couldn't see the youkai's eyes behind his silver bangs.

"You dare speak before the prince?" a short, stout courtier demanded.

The slave remained silent.

"Pretty gutsy for a slave, ain't ya?" the prince smirked, crossing his arms arrogantly across his chest.

The other man didn't rise to the provocation. He said nothing and his head remained bowed. The boy's eyes were drawn to the purple markings on his arms and wrists, which contrasted against his extremely pale skin.

"Who is he?" he demanded, looking at the slaver closest to him, who had dark, coarse skin and wore just a loin cloth around his round, fat stomach.

The man's hand tensed around his whip. "N-no one important, sir. One of the upstarts who tried to stage a rebellion."

The prince of the East was fascinated. Apart from his impertinence earlier, the man had done nothing out of the ordinary. He was standing respectfully with his head bowed and eyes lowered, and yet, he didn't fit in with the others. Maybe it was his skin that was paler than even his, or maybe it was his posture that wasn't resigned or fearful like the others', but the other boy couldn't look away.

"Well, are you gonna let him get away with that?" he demanded of the slavers. They were startled and glanced at each other apprehensively.

One of them, the dark-skinned one with the rotund belly gritted his tobacco-stained teeth and raised his whip hesitantly. "O-of course not, my lord."

He brought the whip down in two slashes across the man's back. Inuyasha hungrily waited for his reaction, waited for him to either fall to his knees or scream from the pain – for some reason, he found himself desperate to see the other man's eyes.

The demon didn't flinch. He didn't stagger forward or even move his head at all; the young prince did not see even a single muscle tense in his arms or back. When he looked up, it was a few moments later, and it wasn't at the prince who had given the order. He turned his head and raised his eyes for the first time and locked them with the dark-skinned slaver's. The prince of the East still couldn't see his eyes, but he saw the slaver's eyes widen, and his brow was suddenly drenched in sweat.

A moment later, the silver haired slave once again had his head bowed. If the slaver had expected him to try to break his bonds and attack, it didn't happen. Their prince seemed satisfied with the punishment, and stepped back to let them continue on their way. The silver-haired demon didn't give them any further trouble as they reached their destination, but the slaver couldn't shake the feeling that he had just shortened his life by centuries.

* * *

That night, prince Inuyasha lay awake in his large luxurious bed, staring up at the ceiling. Cool wind gently blew the curtains of his window. The temperature was pleasant, the bed was soft, but he couldn't get the silver-haired, impudent youkai out of his mind.

No matter what, he hadn't gotten to see the other man's eyes. He wondered what would become of him; he would probably be put to work in one of the labour camps, forced to do hard labour for the rest of his probably short life. There was no point in wishing to see him again; their paths would never cross.

Inuyasha closed his eyes.

When sleep finally came, he dreamt of thunderstorms and purple stripes on pale skin.

-o-

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello again! ^.^ You will have noticed that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are once again not brothers in this fic. Also, for those who were worried about it, Sess will NOT be uke. =^.^=

Review and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you to **Shadow Phoenix 16, RocketLauncher, secret25, Yueh16, yaoiluvur, MonsterSnickers, sleepdeprivedsoul, Nala1220, , Farenheit July, sri kungfon, Tevivo, Guest, lil joker 1989, Disturbed One, Wolf'sVine,** and **Acheron's Akribos** for reviewing ^.^

Responses to anonymous reviewers:

 **RocketLauncher –** Great to see you again ^.^ Thank you so much for the reviews!

 **Wolf'sVine –** Well, he is a brat, but probably not the kind you're thinking of. It will become clear in the next few chapters, I hope.

 **Disturbed One -** Of course ^.^

 **Guest –** Thank you so much!

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

" _ **I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep. I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."**_

 _ **-Alexander the Great**_

 _ **...**_

After Sesshoumaru's small army had lost the war against the Eastern kingdom, the captured men were thrown in a cell underground till it was determined what would be done with them.

Prisoners from a foreign land were kept in a separate holding cell, away from the regular prisoners. If any criminals condemned by the state were really desperate, they could unite with foreigners to attack the government from within. The state could not take that chance, and the foulest, darkest dungeon was kept for holding foreign prisoners. There was a smaller cell built inside the dungeon, so the prison consisted of basically a dungeon with a cage inside it. The bars of the cell must have been placed there for the sake of mocking the youkai within because there was no way the rusted metal would hold against even a moderately powerful youkai. However, it did the job of constricting the prisoner's space and movements, and there was always the bonus of getting to punish any wayward youkai that damaged the cell.

Warriors and servants together were placed in the same cell and given the same amenities. This served two purposes – it saved the cost of building separate cells, and it would piss off all the higher-ranking demons to be in the same cell as their servants, forced to endure the same conditions.

That was how Nobu, the elderly servant who had been brought along with a handful of others in the service of Sesshoumaru and his men, found himself in the cell in the miserable company of soldiers. When asked who their leader was, the soldiers had, as one, looked to Sesshoumaru-sama. So, Sesshoumaru-sama had been taken away separately and the soldiers were giving in to panic in the meantime.

Nobu had been with the Taisho family for many years, and now, his duties were more in the nature of a butler than a servant. Even though he was a full-blooded youkai, his face was showing the lines of age. His once auburn hair was now almost completely grey. He was getting too old to travel with the army, and this was to be his last mission before he was confined to an administrative position in the Taisho manor.

He laid his head back against the damp wall of the cell. His cheek and ribs were throbbing from where a few of the soldiers had used him as a punching bag as a way of relieving their fear and frustration. Inu no Taisho strictly did not allow servants to be mistreated in his household, but many things went on during war time that would have been unthinkable in the peace, and the sudden and terrible defeat the army had faced had shaken their self-confidence and their sense of decorum.

It was the first time Taisho's men had faced defeat in a long time. These particular men were supposed to be the best of the best, and the closest they had come to defeat was _almost_ not winning. For years, they had basked in the glory of being victorious warriors, conquerors of a violent land. And here they were, stuck powerlessly and helplessly among the scum that weren't fit to wipe their boots.

Nobu's son, Jun, was huddled in another corner of the room, thankfully hidden from their wrath in the shadows, sleeping while he still had the chance. The soldiers paced the dank, foul-smelling dungeon, cursing their ill luck and their prince, scuffling with each other at the slightest provocation, and taking out their anger on any servants unfortunate enough to get in their way.

There were supposed to be guards posted at the cell doors, but the dungeon was so cold and damp and smelly, that the guards stood at the edge of the stairs that led down to the dungeons instead of in it at the cell doors. After all, it wasn't like the prisoners could get out of it; apart from the rusty bars of the cell, the dungeon itself was at the foot of a mountain. Unless they could cut open the belly of the mountain with their bare hands, without any weapons, they weren't going anywhere. And the guards didn't really give a shit if they fought among themselves and killed each other – it would just mean that much less work for their people.

Nobu turned his head when the cell door clanked open on its rusty hinges. He watched with horror as Sesshoumaru-sama was shoved in unceremoniously by a pair of youkai guards. They were bull youkai, by the looks of them, tall and with ripped muscles, and they held a tall spear in one hand, while the other was on Sesshoumaru-sama's arm. Sesshoumaru-sama had his head bowed while his hands were shackled in front of him. By the smirk on the faces of bull youkai, it was very evident that they did not consider the silver-haired demon any kind of threat. Sniggering to themselves, they locked the cell doors and went back to their posts at the head of the staircase.

The servants, who had been huddling in the corners and fringes of the cell, trying not to get in the way of the soldiers dropped to their knees. The soldiers quieted a little, but glared at him resentfully. Their tense muscles, covered with a nervous sweat, glistened threatening in the poor lighting as they watched the one responsible for their fate walk in. The demon Lord made a poor sight; he was clothed in the same sack-cloth as earlier, and by now it had dirt and marks on it. He was barefoot and there was even dust on his face and on his person, that almost hid the purple stripes on his face and arms. With his eyes lowered, to someone who didn't know better, he looked almost ordinary.

Lord Sesshoumaru was still their prince, and they had some innate courtesy ingrained in them over the years that prevented them from immediately attacking him, but that was circling the drain. Bearing and conduct were everything in youkai society, and if the demon Lord had lost them in this strange land, there wasn't much that would keep the soldiers obedient.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," one youkai began, voice impudently loud in the night. He was a lion youkai, who had been the leader of this elite battalion through all the battles they had won, and Sesshoumaru's second in command. He was one of ones most angry about their plight; he would never have led them to defeat like this with such a poorly-made plan. It wasn't fair that Lord Inu no Taisho had so casually entrusted their lives to the reckless and arrogant Sesshoumaru-sama simply because he was his son.

The demon Lord raised one finger to his lips to quiet him, shackles jangling as both hands had to be raised for the action. For the first time, he raised his eyes to the room, and to the soldier's delight and apprehension, they were very far from submissive.

"No one is to say my name," he ordered in a steely voice that was soft, yet carried all the force of a prince and General. "You _will not_ cause trouble, you _will not_ get yourselves killed until I get us all out of here."

"My Lord?" one of the soldiers whispered, blinking confusedly. The others looked at each other, equally confused.

"I am not the son of Lord Inu no Taisho," Sesshoumaru stated, speaking slowly to make sure the dim-witted men understood him. "We have no connection to the Western Lands. We are merely upstart rebels from neighbouring kingdoms. We were arrogant and stupid, but we're harmless."

The soldiers stared at him in disbelief; he already looked like had gone through hell. How exactly was he intending to single-handedly get them out if their captors weren't even to know he was the heir of the Western King.

"Wh-what is the point of this, my Lord, if we may ask?" one of the other soldiers whispered.

"The point," Sesshoumaru said, his voice almost a whisper too, "Is to stay alive until we find an opportunity to escape. Unless you want to take your chances with the enemy alone, out-numbered and without weapons?"

He let his eyes roam over his men. Most of them looked away, but some looked as though they didn't entirely think that was a bad idea. Sesshoumaru's eyes settled on these men and his lip curled into a sneer.

"It would be kind to take your stupidity for bravery," he said softly, and they flinched. "But seeing as you had neither the courage, nor the discipline to conduct yourselves on the field of battle and execute a simple plan, that is not possible."

The rebellious soldiers lowered their heads shamefully; their Adam's apple bobbed as they swallowed nervously.

"In the meantime," Sesshoumaru continued, letting his gaze roam over the others. "you will blend into this society as best you can without revealing your identity or the name of your homeland, until you receive further orders."

The lion youkai, who was himself a burly man, made more threatening by his caged aggression, stepped forward, frowning. "Pardon me, my Lord, but I don't think-"

Sesshoumaru's hand snaked onto his throat so fast, the man didn't see the daiyoukai move. He froze like a deer in headlights, the razor-sharp claws flirting with the delicate skin on his throat. Hand still around his throat, the demon Lord had turned him around, holding him flush against himself, while he was forced to face his men and servants.

"Did I give you leave to speak?" he asked lightly. Warm breath tickled his ear as he was held up against the prince's body.

The man opened his mouth to answer, but that only caused the grip on his throat to tighten, and he settled for shaking his head no. He was a warrior; he wasn't afraid of dying in battle. But he had seen the effects of Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Tsukiko's poison first-hand and whatever else his fate may be, he did not want to die like that. And if it was anyone else, he would have called their bluff because there was no way even the General could afford to lose him in this time of need. But this wasn't Lord Inu no Taisho; this was his conceited heir, and he wouldn't put it past him to crush his throat.

"I will say this only once," Sesshoumaru said over the terrified youkai's shoulder, voice low and dark and threatening, letting his gaze sweep over his men. "I do not intend for any of us to perish in this pathetic waste of land. You were chosen for this battle because Lord Inu no Taisho holds your battle prowess in high regard. I have given my word to the Lord of the West that we will return victorious."

The soldiers took in a quick breath.

"I will be relating each and every one of your sins to the King when we are back," Sesshoumaru continued, claws playing idly with the throat in his grasp. "and if any of you have not the strength to follow orders for fear of what may happen, you may as well kill yourselves now-" the soldiers cringed. "-because you can bet your pathetic lives that what Lord Inu no Taisho will do to you for disobeying orders will be far worse than anything that will happen to you in the Land of the East."

The soldiers bowed their heads in acceptance. The servants, who were already kneeling, lowered their eyes fearfully, and bowed their heads down to the ground. Something in the shadows caught Sesshoumaru's attention and his eyes landed on Nobu. The grey-haired man had winced as he bowed. Sesshoumaru knew the old man well enough to know that his very strict sense of decorum would not allow the pain to show on his face if it wasn't impossible for him to hide. Golden eyes found his bruises even in the dim lighting. The youkai he had grabbed almost whimpered as the clawed fingers tightened briefly, and against all his instincts, he went limp in the demon prince's grasp.

Then he was released suddenly; the man dropped to the floor like a doll, looking up shakily to see what blessed thing had diverted the demon Lord's attention. He blinked as he followed the prince's line of sight; there was nothing there except a servant.

Feeling the prince's gaze on him, Nobu got to his feet and hurried over, bowing low before his Master, even though it made his injured ribs compress painfully. He flinched in automatic terror as Sesshoumaru caught hold of his chin with his shackled hands; no nobleman, let alone the prince, would touch someone of his station without the intent to cause pain. But the demon Lord only raised his chin up, allowing light to fall on the cut across his face.

"Who did this?" he asked quietly. The whisper fell like a whip lash. The soldiers flinched but didn't reply. Even with his back unbowed, Nobu was considerably shorter than Sesshoumaru, and the demon Lord's action forced him to rise to his toes. The soldiers, who had suddenly lowered their eyes to the floor, shot furtive glances at the servant held in the awkward position.

Golden eyes swept over the terrified men. He had merely intended to prove a point with their arrogant leader, but it seemed these men were worse than vermin. He once again marvelled at the fact that these were the men his father considered best suited for this mission. They had already displayed their incompetence and their cowardice, but that they would raise a hand against a respected retainer of the royal family was incomprehensible, and even more so now, when they were stuck in a foreign land where medical attention would be almost impossible to get.

They were loyal enough to each other to not name the perpetrators, but the way their terrified eyes went furtively to the ones at fault, and the way the guilty ones wouldn't meet his eyes, gave him all the answer he needed.

He leaned down and murmured the names to Nobu. The retainer's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to deny it, but when he raised his eyes to Sesshoumaru's, the power in the golden eyes wouldn't let him speak the lie.

Everyone heard the murmured names; nobody spoke. The lion youkai was suddenly fiercely glad he hadn't vented his frustrations on any of the servants.

The demon Lord released the servant from his grasp and lowered his shackled hands; Nobu stumbled back, head bowed low, not daring to look at the soldiers. The demon Lord glanced up once at the head of the staircase where the guards were too busy chatting with each other. Before the eyes of his hypnotized men, his poison whip snaked out from where his hands were lowered. The soldiers' mouth fell open in terror, and the whip darted inside the guilty men's mouths. Faint, choked sounds were audible and then the men fell dead to the floor as Sesshoumaru withdrew his weapon.

The soldiers remained frozen where they stood; nobody screamed. Cold youki permeated the cell, and the soldiers shivered, feeling their aggression dissipate like mist. They hadn't yet had the misfortune of bearing the brunt of Sesshoumaru's unleashed youki in a closed space, and each man knew he wasn't going to be able to forget the experience going forward.

"You will conduct yourselves after the manner of the Land of the Moon," Sesshoumaru said in a soft, deadly voice that would haunt their nightmares. Cruel golden eyes surveyed them disdainfully as though they were nothing more than dirt under his feet. "That we are in a strange land, is no excuse for your reprehensible behaviour. Do not forget that you still answer to Lord Inu no Taisho."

"Even so," Sesshoumaru added softly, almost as an afterthought, casually walking over and kicking the body of one of the youkai into the wall. "Whilst we are here, you answer to me, and I have only so much patience. If I come to know of any of you misbehaving with those who are your charge to protect again-" Sesshoumaru smiled pitilessly, glancing languidly at the dead youkai. "-I do with you as I please and take my chances with my father."

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped up suddenly to survey his men. "Is that understood?" he demanded sternly.

Whimpering, the men glanced fearfully at each other and nodded vigorously. The demon lord met each of their eyes by turn to make sure his point had gone across. Then he broke eye-contact and the youkai released a breath they didn't know they'd been holding.

Nobu was standing where he'd left him with his head and neck bowed, knees trembling slightly. With a gesture, Sesshoumaru led him into one dark corner of the dungeon. The other soldiers shot them furtive glances, but said nothing and instinctively huddled together in a different corner of the cell, as far from them as possible.

Shackled hands gently smoothed over the bruise on the elderly man's face. The retainer raised his head to give the demon Lord access. His neck was exposed submissively and though he kept his eyes trained on the floor, tears gathered in his eyes at what the demon prince had done for his sake. Sesshoumaru's eyes softened imperceptibly as they gazed at the expression of surrender on his face.

"I am sorry for what you had to endure," Sesshoumaru said gently. "And even though you are injured, there is something I must ask of you."

Nobu tried to bow low, even though his ribs screamed in protest, but the motion was arrested by the demon Lord's iron grip on his forearm. "There is no more need for formality," Sesshoumaru told him. "Do not do anything that will make your injuries worse, for medical aid may be hard to come by."

Nobu opened his mouth to protest,

"That's an order," Sesshoumaru added almost teasingly. "Fortunately, what I require of you will not be hard on your injuries."

Nobu drew back unconsciously, worried by the amusement dancing in the demon prince's eyes.

* * *

A few hours later, Nobu was supremely uncomfortable. Without question, this had to be the hardest thing he had ever had to do in his considerably long life. He looked pleadingly at the demon Lord, but Sesshoumaru gave him a stern look that said he would just have to do as he was told and that there wasn't any choice in the matter.

"B-bow your head, when you do that, my Lord," Nobu said awkwardly, hands hesitantly touching the demon Lord's back, then flinching back automatically.

Sesshoumaru obediently adjusted his posture.

Nobu nodded hesitantly. "T-that's perfect," he said.

Sesshoumaru raised his head up from where he was kneeling on the floor to look at the other man where he was sitting on the little nook in the wall that was now serving as a rudimentary seat. Nobu looked down despairingly into golden eyes.

"I-is that all, my Lord?" he asked desperately, fidgeting where he was sitting.

"Not even close," Sesshoumaru told him.

Nobu tried his best not to slump in his place. It was exhausting, what he had to do. It was the one thing he had never imagined he would be doing.

And that was teaching the prince of the Western Lands, the daiyoukai Lord Sesshoumaru to be a good servant.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review or comment and let me know what you think ^.^


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